Yosemite Fire Threatens San Francisco Power Supply

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YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — The Rim fire, which has scorched more than 125,000 acres and spread into Yosemite National Park, should pose less of a threat to the power supply of San Francisco as firefighting efforts continue through the weekend, officials said.

The fire, which is only 5% contained, destroyed nine structures and is threatening 4,500 more, according to a recent update by the U.S. Forest Service.

The Rim fire has burned 125,000 acres and breached Yosemite National Park.

On Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown extended a state of emergency to include the city and county of San Francisco because of the threat to utilities — which caused damage to the electrical infrastructure serving the city and county of San Francisco.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission was forced to shut down two of its three hydroelectric power stations because of the fire and shut down transmission lines that bring power to the San Francisco area.